* OK Bob, looks like Kick-off is about to happen and the game is going to commence.... and they're off!

The Raiders kick off, the kick is good and it's landed deep in the Lemmings half. It's snatched up by L#12 Venomax who throws to Gonzales... but he's missed the catch! Turnover to the Raiders! Gonzales will surely be kicking himself for that fumble.

* They're getting stuck in on the scrimmage line, Bob - looks like a group of Raiders have pounced on L#2 Skab but this is one tough rodent, he's thrown them off... and Beckingham's on the floor! Doesn't look like he's hurt, but that's a humiliating start to the Raiders offence!

L#10 Gonzales is making a run for the ball, trying to scoop it up from the floor... but he's missed again! The ball's scattered but this time he's caught it and has it under control. That was a close one! The Horde are on their feet already! He's shot up the sideline towards the line of scrimmage, handing off to L#2 Skab who looks somewhat surprised get it - he's dropped it as a result! The ball scatters toward L#8 Hamstrong who also fumbles it, and it lands behind the Skaven lines. The rats seem to have butterfingers tonight!

* Yes Bob, poor pass co-ordination from the rodents there - I can see Lemmings coach "The Brain" shaking his head in the dugout! The Raiders can see their chance now and try and put some pressure on the scrimmage line to break through! R#12 Bennet blocks L#5 Stuart, three men gang up on L#8 Hamstrong, who goes down but is unhurt. "The Prof" puts the elbow in against Linerat Ralph, who goes down - that's gonna leave a mark! R#3 Axe faces off with L#1 Vinny, who collapses in a crumpled squeak. The rats are reeling!

It's early days yet, Jim. Raiders #11 "J.D" goes for a body slam against Linerat Basil - and J.D goes down painfully! My word, that's a surprise!

* Yes, Bob - and he's not getting up!! I'm not sure what happened there, but he's bleeding a lot, and there's blood on Basil's nose-spike! He's definitely out for the count! They're carting the body off the field now, and the Horde are going crazy! The Raiders have a casualty!

Ralph and Hamstrong have scrambled to their feet but Linerat Vinny is still down, though he is stirring. L#10 Gonzales has made a dash for the ball while the Raiders are distracted by the loss of their teammate -

* Bob, word from the Raiders dugout is that J.D is actually *dead*! Basil does indeed appear to have got a lucky strike through the armour and managed to impale J.D's neck with his nose spike! They'll be celebrating in the Lemmings' dugout for sure!

Bad news for the Raiders there, but worse could come - Gonzales has successfully picked up the ball this time and is belting down the sideline... he sidesteps R#2 Beckingham and he's through and into the Raiders half! What a burst of speed!

* And the Horde is going wild! Well, wilder than before anyway. That's the sort of speed we've come to expect from Gonzales - he's not called 'Speedy' for nothing!

Hamstrong has a go at R#10 Fouler, but I think he's a bit distracted by Gonzales' run - Hamstrong bounces and goes down reeling! Meanwhile, Beckingham's chasing after Gonzales, and amazingly enough he's gaining ground! He's caught him!

* Gonzales must have thought he was home free then, he's noticed Sir David and tries to get out of the way, but Beckingham's managed to get in a good shove in the back in there! Gonzales stumbles... and he's lost the ball!

Good grief, Jim, that ball's gotta be full of jumping-beans, it's bouncing all over the place - it's gone forward, back under the legs of Gonzales, back to Beckingham, forward to Gonzales and forward once again to where it landed first time! They're really scrabbling for the ball down there!

* Amazing run from Beckingham there though. Raiders #6 Smith has run back for the ball, and he's got it! R#3 Axe and R#7 "Lobber" Gale have gone back to support Smith, but it looks like Gonzales is cornered in the Raiders backfield! This could get messy!

Yes Jim, but bear in mind that's one very large cornered rat we're talking about. I'm not sure who's going to have a harder time back there.

* R#10 Fouler's gone up against L#2 Skab and they're both down! Skab looks like he's out for the count, and Fouler is in a daze! They've carried Skab down to the Lemmings' dugout and they're trying to slap some sense back into him.

I think he'll be seeing little cheeses spinning around his head after that impact, Jim!

* Linerat Vinny's back on his feet, but Hamstrong's still rubbing his head down there. Vinny and Basil have run through the gap in the scrimmage line to help out Gonzales! Basil's leapt on Gale's back and he's brought him down hard - Vinny's pounced on Axe and brought him down too! Those are tenacious rodents down there! Gonzales tries to get the ball off R#6 Smith but he's ably swatted down. It's carnage down there as Gale is stretchered off - looks like a KO.

R#6 Smith has shaken off Gonzales and he runs forward toward the scrimmage line. He attempts to pass to R#5 Jimmy "Riddle" Stein, and he's fumbled it! That's not a good show for the catcher, and Smith is really giving Stein a piece of his mind over that fumble! The ball's on the ground nearby!

* Good thing we can't hear what he's saying down there, Bob - this is a family show after all! Meanwhile R#13 "The Prof" blocks L#3 Ralph... and they've both gone down! Ralph's out for the count and The Prof is reeling! He must have have lost some brain cells after that impact!

This is a terrific game, Jim - they're really laying into eachother down there! L#6 Basil is going for a blitz against Smith in the midfield - I don't think he's spotted that he doesn't have the ball anymore, but since when has that stopped the carnage?! Smith goes down stunned! And now L#11 Runner Wotzie Werdigoe spots his chance and is making a dash for the ball! Oh no, he's overshot! No wait, he's hit the brakes and doubled back for it, and he's picked it up this time, and he's belting down the midfield toward the Raider's touchline! Lemmings have possession!

* You gotta admire that agility, Bob. That's gotta come from being able to use all four limbs for your movement.

I think the Horde's tenacity has something to do with it, Jim - you've gotta be able to run fast to get away from them when they're tearing the place down trying to get an autograph! L#8 Hamstrong is back on his feet now, and I think Gonzales is starting to pick himself up. Linerat Stuart blocks R#12 Bennet, assisted by Hamstrong - and both go down! Stuart looks OK, but Bennet is seeing stars! KO to the rats!

* Raiders Fouler and Axe are back on their feet now, and the Prof and Smith are starting to stir. Fouler's managed to avoid Hamstrong and is joining Beckingham to chase after Werdigoe - where does he get that energy from?!

Beckingham is certainly a talented player Jim, and he's definitely proving his determination and grit on the field tonight.

* Speaking of which, he's making a dive for Werdigoe, but he's just a bit too nimble for him - the rat's stumbled but he's retained possession of the ball and he's still going!

The Raiders #1 Blitzer Brick is up and he's mad, and he's giving Skritch Ripizeyezout a hard time on the front line! The Storm Vermin goes down but he's not out for the count! R#9 Kowalski gives L#7 Pinky a good shoving and a knee in the groin, and he's down too! He's going to take a while to stand after that one!

* Hamstrong, Skritch and Gonzales are back on their feet now, and they're already moving! Linerat Stuart blitzes Sir Beckingham, helped by Hamstrong - and Beckingham goes down! Doesn't look too bad though. Good lord, Werdigoe's made a dash for the touchline - but he's spotted L#10 Speedy Gonzales bombing out from the sidelines and into endzone - Werdigoe's gonna throw the ball...! It's in the air!

The crowd are holding their breath - can Gonzales catch this ball, given his earlier clumsiness? YES!!! HE'S CAUGHT IT!!! TOUCHDOWN LEMMINGS!!!!

* The Horde's gone absolutely mental, Bob! Gonzales came from out of nowhere and made an excellent catch in the endzone, and the Raiders can't believe it. Lemmings 1, Raiders 0!!

This is an incredible first half, Jim. Both teams are giving it all they've got, this is competitive spirit at its best, but the Lemmings' tenacity is shining through as it did against the Necros.

* You've got a soft spot for the Lemmings team haven't you, Bob.

What can I say, I root for the underdogs! Or underrats, in this case.

* It has been a very closely fought game so far, but I think the Raiders may yet pull through - I'm not sure that the Lemmings have got the endurance to keep this pace up for the whole game. Anyway, back to the action. There are some changes on the pitch - Linerat Skab's returned from the dugout, a little worse for wear but at least he's now conscious. Linerat #4 Jerry is coming out from the reserves since Ralph is still knocked out in the box. Raiders Gale and Bennet are still KO'd - I think Goraneriksson is regretting his decision to not hire an apothecary - so R#8 St.John-Smithe and R#4 catcher Greasy Jones are on the field instead.

The Lemmings kick the ball off and it lands deep in the Raiders backfield. R#4 Jones makes his first play of the game by running back and collecting the ball, and the Raiders front line try to batter down the Lemmings scrimmage - looks like the rodents have arranged themselves defensively now, trying to keep hold of their lead. St.John-Smithe bears down on L#2 Skab assisted by Jimmy Stein, and Skab goes down stunned! R#2 Beckingham takes on Hamstrong, but the rat's too much for him and he's thrown to the floor!

* Bob, the Lemmings have started to push forward now, and the Raiders scrimmage line is having trouble holding them back. Fouler, Axe, The Prof, and Kowalski are all pushed back by the snarling rats, and - oh my word, that's messy! I can't look!

Jim, I don't think R#1 Brick Hurdzon can either - it seems that Skritch Ripizeyezout has in fact ripped "The Brick"'s eyes out! Very gory, and the Horde are roaring their approval. That's a certain casualty for the Raiders there - if he recovers from that then Brick is certain to be even more miffed than he was before!

* L#10 Gonzales has darted through the hole left by Hurdzon, looks like he might be trying to get in a position to blitz R#4 Jones in the Raiders backfield, but the humans have got their hands full and can't stop him!

Oh, look at that, Jim. Hamstrong's putting the boot into the prone form of Beckingham, but he's stubbed his toes on his armour! That's gotta smart! Fortunately the ref wasn't looking though.

* I think he was actually looking, but it just didn't register, Bob. I knew this Zombie ref was a bad idea!

Now the Raiders are starting to dig in and push back, Jim! Kowalski and Beckingham are back on their feet... St.John-Smithe and John Smith are wrestling with linerat Jerry and... they've grabbed him! They've tossed him into the crowd!! That's gotta hurt!

* The Horde just love it when that happens, but I think Jerry might have lost some limbs in the rapturous mauling he got from the fans there. It definitely doesn't look pretty, and it looks like he's a definite casualty there. I bet he's wishing he'd stayed in the reserve box now!

So far the Raiders have lost two players to death or injury at the hands of the rodents, and Lemmings have lost only one... to the crowd!

* Yes Bob, it's nice to see the fans getting some hands-on involvement here! Meanwhile, R#4 Jones - the man with the ball - is heading for the gap in the Lemmings scrimmage line left by the hapless L#4 Jerry and L#2 Skab!

Jones successfully hands off the ball to R#5 Jimmy Stein at the Raiders scrimmage line - Stein takes it and runs past the dazed form of Skab, who's struggling to get onto his feet after his earlier clash with St.John-Smithe. Stein's running down the sidelines towards the Lemmings endzone! This could be bad for the rats!

* There's some action on the scrimmage line too, Bob. After that earlier push-back by the Lemmings, the Raiders are literally hurling the rats back into their own half! Beckingham knocks down Hamstrong, but Linerat Basil is crumpled, Vinny is crunched, and Stuart eats granite - three KO's!! What a reversal of fortune, a brilliant comeback by the Raiders frontline! Kowalski doesn't get so lucky with Linerat Pinky though, and is instead himself knocked down. The Raiders fans are on their feet!

The tension is rising here as we approach the end of the first half - can the Raiders get through and score? Linerat Skab finally finds his feet and Hamstrong is back up too. Lemmings thrower Skyrr Venomax and Wotzie Werdigo make a desperate dash back to blitz Jimmy Stein and he goes down in a heap next to the sidelines and loses the ball, which disappears into the crowd! The throw-in bounces but is retrieved by Werdigoe, but there's not much he can do with it right now, and he's deep in the Lemmings half! The rodents are still in trouble here!

* It looks like a shoving match is developing between Vince Hamstrong and Sir David of Beckingham, as the rodent takes on the Raiders captain once again! Again Beckingham goes down, but he's not hurt!

Skab's doing well against what's turning into "tag-team Smith and Smithe", who are trying to send him into the crowd as they did with his colleague Jerry! But what a turnaround! Skab's managed to throw St.John Smithe into the crowd instead, who are gleefully bashing him about! Fortunately for him, he's tossed back out after a bit, but he's definitely reeling from the experience. He'll have to recover in the dugout!

* Linerat Pinky's really laying into the downed "Not in the Face" Kowalski who is - of course - getting it in the face. It looks like the Ref is still waiting for the post-touchdown kick-off, I think worms must have eaten most of his brain, and as a result Pinky's got away with it, much to the delight of the Horde! Kowalski is joining St.John-Smithe in the recovery box!

Jim, at the end of that play we're left with six Lemmings and seven Raiders on the pitch! This is a real bloodbath, as it should be - those players know they can't let the fans down!

* The clock's ticking here and this next play looks like it'll be the last of an exciting first half! R#3 Axe has run forward to sack L#11 Werdigoe with some help from R#4 Jones... and Werdigoe goes down, losing the ball! This could be really dangerous, Bob! The ball bounces into the arms of Jones who fumbles it, and it heads for Linerat Stuart who also fails to secure it! Jimmy Stein runs from out of nowhere though, scoops up the ball and dives into the Endzone just as the whistle blows! HE SCORES!! TOUCHDOWN RAIDERS!! The surviving Albion players are all over Stein and the Albion fans are going crazy! What a recovery!

Great touchdown from the Raiders there, Jim - the Horde are leaping off the stands in their droves! So at the end of a truly riveting first half, the score is tied: Raiders 1, Lemmings 1. We'll be back following the halftime report. Join us then!

[On to the Second Half!]